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Diane's DiaryWe returned to Trinidad Wednesday October 3. Security at the airports was tighter than our trip to CA. We saw very little security improvements on the trip to CA other than removing the knives from the food, & taking nail clippers, nail files etc. We felt the "new" security was a joke. However, on our return to Trinidad, security had increased considerably. At JFK, armed checkpoints were in the roadways before you even got to the airport. However, we were not stopped. Since we had what the airlines saw as a one-way ticket back to Trinidad, we were questioned. We showed our boat papers & explained we are a yacht in transit. They had no clue what that meant so they had to get a supervisor. I think it really helped we were US citizens & did not fit the terrorist profile. Our luggage was over weight since Larry brought back all these heavy thru hull fittings made of bronze. We had to switch luggage around to other bags so each bag would not exceed 70lbs. They charged us $35 for the fifth bag since we were only allowed four. When we flew to Bermuda last January we were never charged for the fifth bag that time. Our flights were uneventful & both were crowded. I think United is a much better airline than American & would rather not fly American but they are the only US carrier flying to the Caribbean so we had little choice. We arrived back in Trinidad at 8:30pm. Luckily, we arranged to have another cruiser pick us up from the airport. We had met another cruiser we knew, Bridget from Gabrielle, on our flight. Ironically, her boyfriend had arranged for Mike on S/V Just Dessert to pick her up also. He was picking us up too. Since we had to pay $20USD for the cab, we would rather give the money to a cruiser. They have use of the car for the day & just pick us up from the airport. It works for both parties. Mike knew we would all have a lot of luggage so he brought lots of rope with him. It's a good thing as the stuff was sticking way out of the trunk with everything tied in. We had 5 huge duffels, 2 carry on bags, plus a computer. Bridget didn't have nearly as much stuff as us. However, the car was a Nissan Sentra so it wasn't that big. We were really loaded down. Since the boat was "on the hard" (land for you landlubbers) we had to hoist the luggage up the ladder with a rope. Mike even helped us with that. I really needed his help, as the bags were very heavy. He helped watch Destiny while we were away. Our boat was in a work area & the yard was supposed to move it while we were away but they did not. We had emailed them to put a ladder under our boat for our return, but they did not do it. Fortunately, Mike had seen a ladder earlier in the day so we were able to get it. Destiny looked ok & all was well. We were hot with the change in heat & increase in humidity. We were home! Sure was good to get back to the boat after the horrible trip we had. I don't think anyone could have had a worse trip back. In a million years I would not have guessed what had occurred. How much things have changed! If we had not been sailing, Larry would probably have been in the WTC on 9/11. So, I am grateful we decided to even take this trip at all. We felt strange to be back & felt guilty about cruising again when so many people back home are going through such hard times. I'm glad we got to do this trip - it certainly has changed both of us. Anyway, we both had mixed feelings about being back. We were both exhausted after the long trip back. We had gotten up at 7am, left the house at 9am & didn't get back to Destiny until 10:30pm. It was a long day & we both tumbled into bed exhausted. Without the AC, it sure was hot on the boat. Plus, our bodies had gotten used to the cool weather in NY. We will have to get an AC ASAP. 10/4 Thursday Well, the noise in the marina & the commotion in the yard had us both up early. It's hot already but the marina doesn't have any more AC. They called someone else, Shane, who will bring us one today. In the work area Destiny is in is horrible so they will move us tomorrow. We had to go back to customs to sign back onto the boat. We happened to see Just Dessert with the rental car as we were walking over to customs so they drove us over. We stopped at the supermarket, bank & CrewsInn to check our reservation for mid-Oct. We spent all day putting things away on the boat & getting organized. Both of us were not in great moods - the events in NY certainly dampened our enthusiasm & weighed on our minds. We both felt it was difficult being back. It was almost as if we hadn't left & yet things had changed so much. We felt nothing in Trinidad had changed- everyone was obsessing about stupid things with the boat when so much tragedy had just occurred. We had a hard time relating & just being back in general. Plus, we are living "on the hard" which is not easy. The bathroom can't be used so it's either use a bucket or climb down the ladder in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. Groceries have to be hauled up the ladder. Since we didn't have any food, we went to Joe's Pizza for dinner. We saw mv Gabrielle but just weren't in a mood to talk with other boaters. Our friends from Mima had already left to go to Venezuela so we really missed them. Some other friends had also left while we were gone. We got the AC but it wasn't working at all so we called the owner. Well, he came back at 9pm with a new one to install. Hope this one works better! I went out to use the bathroom at 9pm & found a cat covered with oil & diesel. I was quite upset because I felt the cat would surely die with this much oil on him. I tried to get him into the bathroom to clean him off but he got out of my arms. I called for help & some people helped me with wipe him off with rags. But with this much oil on him, we new the rags wouldn't work completely. We put dishwashing soap on him to cut the grease but the cat was not too happy about that. Unfortunately, he got away from me as we were trying to rinse him off. We didn't get all the oil & grease off him but certainly made good progress. I was really worried about him. I looked for him for several days but couldn't find him. He was a stray cat that other cruisers were feeding but no one could find him. Finally, several days later, they found him, caught him & the owner form Fortress Woodworking brought him to the vet at his expense. I really didn't think he would live but he has & the owner from Fortress has adopted him so it has a great ending. Many cruisers aided him & brought him food, etc. He's a very lucky kitty & has become well loved around the yard. 10/5 Friday We were up at 8am & listened to the net on ch68. We got a good night's sleep as this AC works well thank God! They moved us to a better spot in the yard this morning. Welcome to our new home for at least the next several weeks. We started in on boat projects. Larry wants to replace all the thru hulls on the boat- that will be a huge project. 10/6 Sat Larry is working on the thru hulls. I am washing the entire boat down so I can wax the topsides. The boat is filthy since it's been in the work area of the yard. We treated Mike on Just Dessert for dinner at Joe's Pizza for taking care of Destiny while we were away. It's really exhausting working on the boat in all this heat. We have to take frequent breaks since the sun is so brutal. Thank goodness for the AC where we can take some breaks. We are drinking tons of fluids to rehydrate ourselves. 10/7-10/25 We were on the hard this entire time doing boat repairs. The bottom didn't actually look all that bad. The boat had been in the water about a year before it was hauled. This was longer than what we usually go through in NY where we put it in the water around May & haul it out in Oct, but not terribly bad. We actually didn't have a lot of bottom growth. But that's because we regularly clean the bottom. The bottom was clean before we got to Trinidad with no barnacles but after one month in the water here had lots of growth. However, it wasn't that bad. We were going to change to Jotun paint which is banned in the US because it's tin based. However, we found out we would have to put a barrier coat on it, before we use the paint & then when we go back to the US so we decided no to bother. Our paint seemed to be holding up pretty good here. So, what did I do on the boat during the haul out? I washed the boat, used FSR stain remover on the topsides, waxed the topsides with 2 coats of wax (wish I had my electric buffer with me- it's a lot harder on your arms without it), sanded the keel to get rid of the chipping paint, helped Larry with the thru hulls, sanded and epoxied the water line to raise it several inches & painted the bottom myself. (Ed. note: I mixed the epoxy paint-Larry) What did Larry do? He sat & watched me work!!! Only kidding. Actually he did a lot more than I did as I can't do a lot of the work. He worked his butt off. He replaced all the thru hulls on the boat (actually he did 7- the other 2 he did before we left NY). This meant we didn't have running water on the boat for several days. Then, when we got the water back he disconnected the propane for about a week. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper. He did a great job on the thru hulls. Wally from Dazzler, helped him & thankfully lent him some tools. |